Life After Lies
by HapHazardxx
Summary: V'daa is an Elite Minor. Jamie is a Private First Class Marine. After the Great Schism, they must team up. Jamie hates Elites, but he never reveals why. Once V'daa finds out, can he help Jamie cope with the past? Halo 2 and 3 spoilers.
1. A Phantom in the Sunset

**a/n- Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. However, any names that aren't a part of the Halo universe are made up by me, such as Jamie, Piraz, K'vark, and the _Soul and Honor._**

Chapter One- Phantom in the Sunset

Jamie growled. "Damn, where's Chief when you need him?" He asked, ducking behind the rock he used for cover as the Wraith shot at him again.

As if on cue, a Banshee came from the sky and engaged the Wraith. The Wrait, not being anti-aircraft and actually having a somewhat slow reaction time, didn't win the duel. With the Wraith gone, the Banshee landed and it's owner got out.

"Humans!" Cried a harsh-low voice. Jamie recognized that kind of voice and held his breath, wishing he hadn't used the rest of his ammo on those Grunts. All they'd had was Needlers. He hated using Covenant weapons.

The voice called again. "Humans, I come to you peacefully. My name is K'vrak . I have news. By order of the Arbiter and Shipmaster, the Sangheili are hereby joined with Human forces."

Jamie wasn't expecting that. He wasn't leaving his cover, either, He didn't think it was safe.

A Phantom passed by overhead and hovered. Jamie heard the sound he recognized from many years of war as the sound of Elite Camouflage activating. Instinct told him to run, but his curiosity told him to stay. The curiosity won.

He glanced around slowly and noticed Piraz, his only other remaining ally, was still there. Jamie mouthed, "Toss me your pistol."

He could hear boot steps. The Phantom was still overhead. This was no time for a fight. The Phantom would see and send reinforcements.

Piraz loaded his pistol and tossed it Jamie's direction. Jamie didn't catch it. The pistol hit the ground, and it seemed that quiet _thud_ was the loudest sound Jamie had ever heard- louder than the plasma cannon of the Hunters. He snatched the gun off the ground and spun around.

The Elite, a golden, was right there, close enough that Jamie could touch him… if he'd wanted too.

"Please, Human, listen. My leaders and my brothers have realized the error in our ways. We do not ask forgiveness, only cooperation. The Arbiter and Shipmaster have spoken if your leader, Lord Hood. The Arbiter and your leader Johnson helped each other defeat Tartarus. Peace."

Piraz was now next to Jamie. The both had their fingers on the triggers of their gun, just in case. Jamie never understood how Elites were always so calm, even in the heat of a battle they couldn't win.

Unable to make the Marines trust him, the Elite sighed and deactivated his energy sword. "There are Hunters on the way. You can fight them with your pitiful weapons, or you can permit me to help."

Jamie and Piraz exchanged glances. "Help is better," they agreed. Two ordinary soldiers typically did not come out of a fight with a pair of Hunters unscarred. Hunters terrified Jamie.

"Come, the _Soul and Honor_ is waiting."

"You mean the Phantom?" Jamie asked. "You're kidding. You want us to go in there?"

"Just do it," hissed Piraz. "Better there than at the hands of Hunters, or worse… Flood. At least the Elites have dignity and respect."

Jamie had to admit that death by Flood sounded terrible. "Lead the way, K'vrak."

The Elite led them directly under the Phantom, and soon the three were in the tractor beam headed for the _Soul and Honor_.

"Are there more of you?" K'vrak asked.

"No," replied Jamie. "We were headed for extraction, but extraction never came. Lost a lot to Brutes and Drones. Lost a few to your kind, too. A few of us split off to find alternate routes, but they weren't ever heard from again." He finished with a glare.

K'vrak noted Jamie's bitter tone. "It's in the past, Human, forget it."

When they boarded the _Soul and Honor_, they were escorted a room full of Elite. On a screen at one end was Johnson.

"We've got the last of your unlocated men," said an Elite, obviously one in power.

"Good. Followed our ships out. Sounds to me like we're headed for Earth."

Jamie gasped. Had Johnson lost it? He was leading the enemy home!

Another Elite appeared on screen next to Johnson. He only had three mandibles, unlike the four most Elites had. "Our time has come!" He cried. "Revenge for the deaths of our brothers! Too many have died. And now we shall bathe in the blood of our newfound enemies. Death to the Prophet! Death to the Flood! With the Demon, we will be unstoppable!" The screen flickered and went dark.

Jamie finally started believing the Elites weren't the enemy. He'd have to get on a Pelican soon enough though anyways. Who knew what the Elites ate?

A woman in pilot gear approached. "So you two are what's left of the group I was supposed to extract."

Jamie shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

The girl burst into tears. "I'm so sorry, I should've been there! I should've been there, but I saw the Phantom on my screen and thought it'd be too hot for me to land! I had no idea!"

Jamie couldn't help but give the girl a hug. "I probably would've done the same thing. Don't blame yourself. I don't think anyone really saw this coming. Do you know who extracted Chief?"

The golden interrupted them. "The Demon was last seen fleeing our holy city, High Charity. It's believed he boarded a Forerunner ship, which we are following. We have brothers on High Charity. We don't know what became of them when the Great Schism took place. The Demon can tell us."

Piraz piped up. "How long will the trip take?"

"Not long, Human. If we find the Forerunner portal, only a few minutes or so."

"What do we do until then?" Jamie asked.

**a/n- If I have any of my facts wrong, especially in later chapters, please let me know over a PM or a Review or something! I really don't like looking stupid... I've done a crapload of research on Sangheili, but not much on any other races, so it's likely I'll get stuff about the Brutes or Prophets wrong. **


	2. On the SOUL AND HONOR

Chapter Two-

V'daa sat alone, rethinking the recent events. The Prophets had betrayed them, order the Brutes to massacre them, after everything they had ever done to support the Covenant! It was they who had led thousands of Unggoy into battle, they who sacrificed themselves for the Covenant, while the Brutes were nowhere to be seen! Now, his brothers had paid for their faith with their lives.

He wished he had the ability to speak as well as 'Rtas Vadum or Thel Vadam. If he could speak well enough to explain it to others, maybe it would make sense in his own mind. He could not speak like them, though, so he was left alone and confused.

He had lost more than brothers on _High Charity. _He had lost friends, good friends. If he ever saw Truth again, he would kill him- if it was the last thing he did.

_Unggoy and Lekgolo were on our side at first,_ V'daa told himself. _We were their leaders. Why the change?_

It was true. Arbiter Vadam had explained how at least four Lekgolo had assisted him and Shipmaster Vadum fight through the Jiralhanae so they could reach the scarab that, even though they had not known it at the time, Johnson was in charge of.

Somehow, V'daa knew that alienating the Sangheili would cost the Prophet the war. The Arbiter was fiery and courageous. He could stare death in the eye without flinching. He was not someone you wanted as an enemy. The Prophets first mistake was in pissing off the Arbiter. His second was in killing so many Sangheili, the others could not possibly tolerate being under Prophet rule. His third mistake? Making the Brutes the ruling military class. Any Sangheili loyalists, if there were any, would be treated no better than Unggoy. There was no confusion in the matter. Every single remaining Sangheili felt such rage at the Prophet that every fiber of their being burned with hatred. Piss off the Arbiter, and you were in trouble. Piss off every single living Sangheili, and you were so screwed you did not even know the meaning of the word!

He came out of his thoughts and glanced around. The Sangheili and the Humans did not mingle. Even in the Humans, there was separation, as the females and the males rarely mixed. Every now and then, a female would stare at one of the males with a mix of curiosity and tenderness. Every now and then, the Humans would shoot the Sangheili looks of hatred, discomfort, disgust, or interest. Sangheili would shoot the Humans very similar glances.

_Huh,_ V'daa though, _maybe we are not as different as we once imagined. What thoughts go through their mind at this time?_

He fiddled with the hilt of his energy sword anxiously.

He caught bits of the conversations taking place among his brothers. He picked up one conversation with interest. Something about a transmission from _High Charity._ Somewhat reluctantly, the Minor Sangheili joined his brothers.

F'der, a Special Operations Elite Commander, was explaining the transmission to the Scouts who had missed it. "There's some kind of AI inside the computers at _High Charity._ It is not of Covenant origin. It's widely believed that the Demon brought the AI, and left it behind when he fled the city."

V'daa had once been stationed on the _Truth and Reconciliation._ He had not actually encountered the Demon, but he remembered the damage the AI had done to their computers. He also had the faintest idea that maybe the Demon depended on the AI.

"What happened next?" Asked a major, S'lvek.

F'der bowed his head. "Unfortunately, the Jiralhanae managed to trace the transmission and sent a pair of Lekgolo. Our brother was killed. We are retreating quickly, before the Jiralhanae figure out where the transmission was sent. All we have to fight is a small hanger of Ghosts and Banshees. We couldn't hold off a boarding party."

V'daa suddenly knew why the Forerunner portal was so important. They were fleeing! If not following orders from their new Human companions, V'daa knew they would have stayed to fight with their brothers. Sangheili were many things, but cowardly was not one of them.

S'lvek spoke again. "This certainly is a tragedy. Our bothers, slaughtered, and us, running from the murderers."

F'der looked glum. "There's more. Seconds before the transmission faded, we saw something. It took several replays before we could identify it… a Flood spore. There are no survivors on _High Charity._ Not even a Brute."

There was a murmur among the Sangheili. At the mention of the parasite, even the Humans hushed, a feeling of despair and lost hope hung in the air. One of the Human females sobbed openly.

"This ship didn't come from _High Charity,_ did it?" Demanded a male human.

V'daa replied. "Originally, yes, but we were no where no the Holy City when the Schism took place. Don't concern yourselves, Humans- we are 100% sure the parasite is not on board."

That calmed the Humans for now. V'daa knew they still had doubts, concerns, but maybe knowing what they knew now, they would be more hesitant to voice those concerns.

The groups went back to separation. V'daa, being somewhat of a social outcast, separated himself and went back to the supply crate he was originally sitting on.

The parasite was on _High Charity._ They could never go back, never respectfully bury their fallen brethren, never burn the Prophets dead soldiers who had betrayed the so suddenly and violently, so without cause.

Without warning, the _Soul and Honor_ started jerking.

K'vrak cried out, "I think we are nearing the portal." He pointed to the Sangheili running communications. "Try to open contact with the Humans. Tell them we have their soldiers on board. Do not let them destroy this ship!"

The Humans gasped. "They might destroy this ship, with us on it?"

"Not if we open contact," F'der replied calmly.

V'daa sighed at the frightened Humans. It was harder for them to look death in the eye. The saw living as the honorable option. They were lucky Arbiter Vadam was on their side. They would most definitely learn a few things from him.

The ship came out of the hyperspace jump and the flight smoothed out.

The image of a powerful man appeared on the screen. He wore a white uniform with dozens of medals pinned to his chest. "I am Lord Hood. Sergeant Johnson told me about the… arrangement. It's understood you have our soldiers on your ship?"

The Humans all shouted "Hoo-ah!"

"Your ship is permitted to pass. Continue."

The screen flickered and went dark.

V'daa brushed off his dark blue armor. "I knew it would all be fine," he muttered.

The majority of the trips danger passed, the Humans cheered. Some of the females wrapped one another in what V'daa believed was called a "hug." Humans were too emotional over the silliest things was V'daa's theory.

The Humans glanced around. For some of them, their cheeks turned red when they realized the Sangheili were not celebrating. One of them, a dark-haired man with mocha colored skin and eyes like night, locked his gaze with V'daa. There was nothing special, only hate and discomfort… but there was something different, something hidden behind those emotionless brown orbs. V'daa could not figure it out before the man turned away.

The man was young, too young, in V'daa's opinion. V'daa himself was quite young. He had only left training the equivalent of two Earth years ago. He was still just a Minor Sangheili, with dark blue armor, who dreamed of being promoted to a Major who wore red.

At that point, V'daa decided he would confront the human. Maybe after a conversation, he would understand what the man hid behind his eyes.


	3. The Storm

Chapter Three-

The stare of the blue Elite sent chills down Jamie's spine. He didn't think he'd ever forget that blue glare that pierced his insides. He'd turned away, far too intimidated not to.

One of the guys from Jamie's squad, who had led the group that split off to find a safe way to evac, patted Jamie on the back. "McMorrow!" cried the man. "Good to see you're in one piece."

"Anderson! Didn't think you'd made it." Jamie smiled, glad to see familiar faces. "Why didn't you ever call or anything?"

"Waded through some water and dropped my headset. Just my luck, right?"

Jamie laughed.

Anderson continued. "The Elites snagged us pretty early on. Still lost Davids, though, damn those Jackals."

K'vrak stood at the front of the room. "Can I have everyone's attention?"

The crowd hushed, and the Elite continued. "Humans, several of your 'Pelicans,' I believe they are called, are inbound. They will be picking you up and dropping you off on Earth, where the Demon needs your help. My brothers and I will wait on the ship until we have further instruction for the Arbiter. Several of my Sangheili brothers have volunteered to escort you to the landing bay."

Jamie glanced around. About five Elites stood up, all wearing dark blue armor. They motioned for the Marines to follow.

"Well, boys, looks like we're going home!" Anderson cried. He was the first to step up. Others soon followed his path.

Hesitant, Jamie hung back at first. When he realized he was the last Marine in the room, he took off running after the group.

The short walk to the landing pad was silent. When the group of Marines arrived, the Pelicans were already waiting for them. The Elite left the room, and the pilots handed out weapons and briefed their groups. Some Pelicans carried Warthogs, where others carried Scorpions. Right then, the Marines knew it wouldn't be easy.

The pilot who would be dropping off Jamie began briefing. "Chief and Arbiter are fleeing our base near Voi. They need back up while they hunt down survivors. Be prepared for anything. There are a hell of a lot of Wraiths, and there are rumors of a possible Scarab nearby. Later, you'll find Mongoose. Each Mongoose needs a passenger. Rocket launchers do not drive!"

They all loaded on to the Pelicans. Within seconds, they were on their way to South Africa. Jamie could see most of the world from the Pelican. North America was still intact. Jamie gave a sigh of relief.

A few minutes later, Jamie and the other Marines were on the ground. He took the drivers seat to a Warthog. A woman with a rocket launcher sat behind him. "Go! Go! Go!" she screamed.

At first it was simple stuff. They all waited in their vehicles while Master Chief and a few others would clear areas and open doors. When they came into the first lake bed, though, two Wraiths awaited them—A normal Wraith and an anti-aircraft Wraith. Master Chief handled it quickly, and they moved on to the next factory. They handled the Brutes and Jackals quickly, only losing one or two. It was the drones that really massacred them, until it was Jamie and several others remaining. Master Chief was still out in front, leading the way as always.

They found the area with two or three Mongoose, Lake Bed B. Jamie and the woman with the rocket launcher boarded one. Jamie drove.

As they crested a hill, Jamie immediately saw an anti-air Wraith. He braked at glanced at his passenger. "Where do you want me?"

"Behind it. Close, but not _too_ close!" she replied. Jamie nodded and hit the gas.

The Wraith, more focused on The Chief and Arbiter, never noticed the Mongoose making a wider circle around it. Jamie got in behind it and pulled in close, but far enough away that they wouldn't experience any splash damage. He never slowed down. His passenger took aim as they passed. She fired.

Armor plating fell off the Wraith. Jamie cheered. The Wraith was vulnerable! He watched in awe as the Chief pulled in close and Arbiter leapt off the Mongoose. He planted a grenade on the Wraith's hood and ran like hell.

The Wraith collapsed to pieces.

The victory was short lived though. The ground shook.

"What was that?" someone asked.

The ground shook again. "It's getting closer," replied the same person.

Johnson screamed into the headsets. "Scarab! Find cover!"

Jamie glanced around quickly, looking for the Scarab. Seconds later, it crawled over the nearby tunnel. "Shit!" he yelled. He and his passenger exchanged glances. "I'll get you under it, hit the inside of the knees."

"Yessir!" She replied with a knod.

The Mongoose took off again. The Scarab, unlike the Wraith, however, noticed Jamie and his passenger and guess their intentions. It fired close. Too close, close enough that, although they weren't directly hit, the splash damage flipped the vehicle. Jamie had extremely fast reflexes – He was known best for his reflexes among his squad – and leapt off quickly.

His passenger wasn't as fast. When the ground stopped spinning, Jamie looked for her. She wasn't hard to find. She was only a few feet away, and she was screaming bloody murder. It took Jamie a minute to figure out why.

The Mongoose was laying on her legs. The wheels were out pointing to the left, instead of the ground. Jamie had no clue how much a Mongoose would weigh, but it was probably a lot, and he ran to her.

"Tell me your name," he said calmly.

She took a deep breath and answered through clenched teeth. "Private Mary Shill."

"Okay, Private Shill," he said, squeezing her hand, "listen to me. Just calm down. I'm going to go get help so we can get this thing off of you, and then I'm going to put you on the next Pelican out of here. We just need to find cover."

"Don't leave!" She screamed. Tears stained her face. "Please, don't leave me, I don't want to die, don't leave me, I don't want to be alone, don't let me die!"

"You are not going to die. I won't let you die. Your leg bones are probably broken, but that can be fixed. You are not going to die. Just stay with me, Mary, just stay with me."

"Oh, God, it hurts, it hurts man!"

"I know, Mary, I know. Don't worry. You're gonna be fine."

Another Mongoose pulled up. "You guys are in a ba-a-ad spot," said the driver. "Let us help." He and the passenger got off and grabbed onto the fallen vehicle. Jamie came around to the underside of it, the side facing Mary.

"One… Two… THREE!" He counted. He pushed, and the other two soldiers pulled. The Mongoose flipped so it's wheels were now on the ground. The space between the wheels was over Mary's legs, and she no longer had a heavy vehicle crushing down on her. With the help of the three other soldiers, they lifted her up and carried her to a nearby rock. It was only enough shelter for two.

The Scarab began beeping, and Jamie knew that meant it was lowering to the ground. "Get outta here!" he yelled. "She wants me to stay with her, but there's not enough cover to protect you from the explosion too."

They followed his advice. It wasn't long before Jamie heard battles on the Scarab. Then a grenade, following by a screeching that got louder and louder. He clamped his eyes shut and stayed low to the ground. Mary was still screaming.

The Scarab exploded into a cloud of blue electricity. The ground shook and it seemed as if time itself stopped. No one moved. No one breathed.

And then sound returned to the world. Cries of the wounded and their helpers rang out into the sky. A Pelican landed nearby. "A medic!" Jamie screamed. "We need a freaking medic!"

Since they were the closest pair to the Pelican, the medic came to Jamie and Mary first.

Mary and the other wounded were evacuated on the Pelican and taken to the _Forward Onto Dawn._ In exchange for the wounded, the Marines received back up from the Arbiter.

The UNSC forces fought towards a warehouse. They found several more Marines, just scattered resistance. One of them manned a radio.

Captain Miranda Keyes and Lord Hood were having a discussio0n over the cried, "Admiral, a single Covenant ship has slipped in-system!"

Lord Hood questioned her. "Just one? What's its range and position?"

"Above the artifact, inside the orbital line. Seems to be holding steady."

"Attack will proceed as planned, Commander. We're not going to get another shot at Truth."

"Sir. Yes sir."

The group continued on until they found the periphery of the warehouse. Three Marines crouched behind sandbags. Up above, a pair of Marines manned a Heavy Machine Gun, firing at the Brutes relentlessly.

The storage area was crawling with Brutes. It took a sniper several shots to weaken them enough for anyone besides Chief and Arbiter to enter the area. Two Hunters entered the area. Completely freaked out, Jamie cowered behind cover most of the time, only having the courage to put in a few shots.

When the group of Marines and construction workers exited the factory, they saw what the big deal was. There was the biggest Anti-Air Gun Jamie had ever seen. The group fought their way through hordes of Brutes just to reach it, and then they had to destroy it. Chief and Arbiter knew what to do, waiting to fire until the gun vented it's steam. The gun collapsed and Lord Hood began his attack run on the Forerunner artifact.

There was the sound of mechanical objects at work. They all glanced to the artifact, which was opening up like a starfish. Then, all of a sudden, it fired a beam of light into the storm.

Over the COM, Hood asked, "What did Truth just do? Did he fire the rings?"

Keyes replied. "No, sir… But he did something."

The Arbiter roared as the _Forerunner Dreadnought_ escaped into the portal.

Hood orderd everyone to "Evac the wounded and regroup."

An Officer cried into the COM, "Sir, new contact slipping in!"

A sole Covenant ship emerged from lightspeed. It was clearly in bad condition. The aura it gave off as it passed overhead and crashed a while away gave Jamie a very bad feeling.

"What is it?" The Arbiter demanded. "More Brutes?"

Chief replied with one word: "Worse."

**A/N- I totally screwed this chapter up at first, and that meant I screwed up Chapter Four. I couldn't play Halo because of some stupid rules my parents have ((Three hours a week, only on weekends, only if my chores are done. Can't wait until I'm in college.)) Anyways, thanks to ANYONE at **_**Halopedia. Halopedia**_** is like, my new Bible.**


End file.
